Roof racks for vehicles are widely used for transporting goods and sports equipment such as skies, bags, suitcases, boxes, bicycles, etc. Roof racks generally comprise a load carrier bar extending across the roof, and a first and a second load carrier foot which is attachable to the roof. As there is a wide variety of vehicles on the market, the market requires adjustable roof racks with moveable attachment means so as to be compatible with different sizes and different types of vehicles. Roof racks commonly extend across the roof of the vehicle in the transverse direction perpendicular to the vehicles longitudinal direction. As such it is important that the distance between the first and the second load carrier foot can be adjusted.
One type of adjustable roof rack comprises a load carrier bar with a slot in which the load carrier foot can be releasably attached. The distance between the first and the second load carrier foot can thus be adjusted. One problem with these types of roof racks is that a user who mounts the roof rack to the vehicles roof needs to determine the appropriate length between the load carrier feet and adjust them accordingly during assembly with the vehicle. To simplify this, stickers can be positioned on the load carrier bar or printed e.g. on a plastic cover encompassing the load carrier bar. However, stickers can be wrongly attached and plastic covers can shrink, e.g. due to exposure to UV rays, and as a consequence, the position indication provided by a plastic cover or a sticker can be misleading or directly wrong.
When a vehicle is moving, turbulence can be created around openings, cavities and protruding forms of the load carrier bar. Such turbulence creates noise and also increases the air resistance of the load carrier bar. The solutions mentioned above are also known to increase the air turbulence around the load carrier bar and foot as they generally tend to leave parts of the apertures in which the load carrier foot is attached exposed to the passing air. As air passes the exposed aperture, turbulence is created around the aperture which can impart high levels of noise especially at high speed.
Another solution is a plastic strip which can be cut to a predetermined length. The predetermined length, appropriate for a specific vehicle, can be found in the paper manual for the product or on a corresponding web site on the internet. After the plastic strip has been cut, it is attached in a slot of the load carrier bar and subsequently the load carrier foot can be fastened at the position, in the same slot, which is physically indicated by the length of the pre-cut plastic strip. This solution is not very flexible in terms of enabling repositioning of the load carrier foot. Once the plastic strip has been cut, it offers small or no possibilities to be reattached again. As it requires a tool for cutting, it is not very user friendly.
There is thus a need for an adaptable solution, less sensitive of weather conditions and assembly parameters and which further provides for a simpler handling for the user. The solution should further strive towards low air turbulence to reduce noise.